How hard is it to match in CA?

[gonesurfing]

Hi everyone,

I am currently a MS3 who is from Ca and wishes to match back home because my husband is there. He also has a job that doesn't relocate well.

I am top 25-30% of my class. My Step one is mid 230. I heard general surgery is all about scores. Am I competitive enough? I don't necessarily only want to match into Stanford or a university program. Any program really will be ok.

Also is it really hard to get into a fellowship if you don't go to a university program. I'm thinking about trauma surgery and Someone told me if u train at non academic places it's impossible to get a fellowship afterwards. Is this true?

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[Lioness]

California is hard to get into only because it is competitive - there are a lot of applicants in your position (from CA and hoping to go back). Neither your Step1 score or class rank will prohibit you from interviews, as long as the rest of your application is appropriate. If you really want to get back do apply widely, but you will get some interviews unless you have other red flags. Great letters of recommendation will help.

How much a non-university residency matters for fellowship depends almost entirely on what fellowship you are applying for. For Trauma (Surgical Critical Care, really) the effect is minimal - SCC fellowships are only competitive at the most popular places. Overall there are more fellowship spots than applicants. For something like Surg Onc or Pediatric Surgery having access to good research facilities (most likely found at a university facility) and dedicated research time is far more important.

Hi everyone,

I am currently a MS3 who is from Ca and wishes to match back home because my husband is there. He also has a job that doesn't relocate well.

I am top 25-30% of my class. My Step one is mid 230. I heard general surgery is all about scores. Am I competitive enough? I don't necessarily only want to match into Stanford or a university program. Any program really will be ok.

Also is it really hard to get into a fellowship if you don't go to a university program. I'm thinking about trauma surgery and Someone told me if u train at non academic places it's impossible to get a fellowship afterwards. Is this true?